ENGLISH

The Nazi Symbiosis: Human Genetics and Politics in the Third Reich

By Sheila Faith Weiss

Book information

Publisher
University of Chicago Press
Year
2010
ISBN
0226891763, 9780226891767
LCC
HQ755.5.G3 W47 2010
Open Library ID
OL24579395M
Language
english
Format
PDF
Filesize
2 MB (2451941 bytes)
Pages
392\392
Topic
History
Orientation
yes
Scanned
no
Time added
2012-03-09 12:00:00
Исторические дисциплины;История стран Европы и Аме

Description

The Faustian bargain—in which an individual or group collaborates with an evil entity in order to obtain knowledge, power, or material gain—is perhaps best exemplified by the alliance between world-renowned human geneticists and the Nazi state. Under the swastika, German scientists descended into the moral abyss, perpetrating heinous medical crimes at Auschwitz and at euthanasia hospitals. But why did biomedical researchers accept such a bargain? The Nazi Symbiosis offers a nuanced account of the myriad ways human heredity and Nazi politics reinforced each other before and during the Third Reich. Exploring the ethical and professional consequences for the scientists involved as well as the political ramifications for Nazi racial policies, Sheila Faith Weiss places genetics and eugenics in their larger international context. In questioning whether the motives that propelled German geneticists were different from the compromises that researchers from other countries and eras face, Weiss extends her argument into our modern moment, as we confront the promises and perils of genomic medicine today.

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